


Finding your place

by tigerlilly



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Episode: s08e03 Lockdown, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-06-20
Updated: 2006-06-20
Packaged: 2017-11-07 10:50:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/430243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigerlilly/pseuds/tigerlilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack's having a hard time adjusting to his new position as head of SGC when a direct threat to the base needs all of his attention.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding your place

**Author's Note:**

> written for the J/D-Ficathon 2006  
> Assignment: at least one funny moment during foreplay/sex/making out/etc mixed somewhere in between lots of plot, preferable either post-Lockdown or post-Prometheus Unbound

It had been just one hour after he had cancelled the lockdown when Jack met Daniel in one of the corridors leading to the infirmary.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"So..."

"So what, Jack?"

"You still mad at me?"

There was a slight anxious undertone in his voice and Daniel was tempted to play a bit with his CO and lover. "Hmmm..." The crossing of his arms in front of his chest always worked as he noticed Jack tensing. "Why shouldn't I? After all you shot me!"

They came around a corner and had to bypass a few SFs so their small conversation was shortly interrupted. When they were finally alone again Jack said in an apologetic tone, "But I already said that I'm sorry! What should I have done instead with you playing nuts in the Gateroom?"

"Oh, I know, Jack," Daniel answered, "you didn’t have much of a choice. But you could still make it up to me somehow."

By then the two had reached the infirmary and Daniel stopped at the door, looking challengingly at Jack, who didn't miss the twinkling in his eyes.

"You little shit." Jack took a step into Daniel's personal space after a quick check of anyone who could overhear them, then whispered into his lover's ear, "You come home and I will give you a proper apology." With that he let his fingertips run down Daniel's unharmed arm, feeling his lover slightly shiver and with a wink he stepped back and went away.

Daniel didn’t have time to give a somewhat reasonable response when Jack slowed down and called over his shoulder, "Don't forget the party at my house tonight. You could come earlier and help me with all the stuff." When Jack saw Daniel nodding as if in a trance he added, "See you at five." With that he rounded the next corner and was out of Daniel's sight. Daniel just shook his head and went inside the infirmary.

~~~

The party was something Jack hadn’t been looking forward to but everyone had convinced him that it would be appropriate to do this because of his promotion. In the end he only gave in because he couldn't stand the whining of his former team mates anymore.

He would have liked to have a bit more time for preparation but because of the lockdown he could only use the few hours before the party. He was just glad that he had hired a catering company so that he only had to take care of the surroundings. Sure, it would've been more his thing to throw a barbeque, but with this many people it was even for him too much to handle.

Intentionally Jack had cut down the number of persons to a minimum level, only the persons closest to him, a few officials and some of the higher SGC-staff were invited and in the end it was a nice evening. There had been light conversation and mostly everybody avoided talking about the recent events. It was still too clear in their minds how near they had come to letting Anubis run free. It still had been sheer luck that Carter had been able to change the destination during the dialing process. And all of them, especially Jack, were indebted to Colonel Vaselov's sacrificing act.

Only General Hammond, who had come from Washington despite his full schedule, mentioned the incident during a private conversation between him and Jack.

"I see you didn’t start easy, Jack," the General said. "I would've wished a better start for you."

"Well, the job's the same as before," Jack answered with a shrug. "How did Teal'c put it once? The battle's not going to stop only because we have a special occasion on Earth. And I knew what I was getting into when I accepted the job." After a small pause he added, "Even though I sometimes think it would've been better not to."

"You're regretting your decision?" Hammond asked with a raised brow. "I always thought you would've been glad to get a little less action - despite the amount of paperwork I know you despise."

"No, I'm not really regretting it. I knew I couldn't go through the Gate for much longer. But sometimes..." Jack didn't finish his sentence but the General understood nonetheless. He knew how much his team meant for his former 2IC and even though he himself had been the head of the SGC for seven years he still remembered the anticipated tension you get before every mission. He too missed it every now and then.

He let the subject drop for the rest of the evening, not wanting to darken the mood while everybody was so happy to just be outside the Mountain again and with a pat on Jack's back he went to join one of the other groups, leaving Jack to the rest of the guests.

~~~

It had gotten late and around midnight only the members of SG-1 were left. The four had made themselves comfortable in the living room and were chatting amicably. While Jack and Teal'c were discussing sports and the latest movies, Daniel and Sam went with the gossip on base.

"...didn't you see how Major Davis sent glances towards the Doc nearly all the time during the evening?" Sam queried, fully engrossed in their topic of who did who in the SGC.

"Really? I didn't notice that." Daniel was quite astonished that he had missed something that must have been that obvious.

"Well, you two were otherwise occupied," Sam told him with a smirk and a nod towards Jack.

Daniel had the grace to blush. He had helped Jack play host during the evening, making use of frequent walks into the kitchen to steal a kiss or two from his lover.

He was glad that his team mates knew about him and Jack but it made him uncomfortable none the less when the subject came up. He remembered too clearly the hurt in Sam's eyes when they had told them, more or less accidentally.

It had been a team night out at O'Malley's and they had drunken way too much to be still responsible for what they said. Sam had gotten all flirty again with Jack and somehow it ended in him telling her to back off before he had to stake out his claim in front of them. He hadn't realized what he had said until he saw the utter look of panic in Jack's eyes.

After the bombshell had been dropped there had been a lot of talking. Teal'c had just gotten along with it but there had been a lot of work to do to mend his friendship with Sam again. Though she also had been hurt because of her feelings for Jack, it was more the fact that they had been hiding their relationship from her and Teal'c, and had not trusted them enough to keep it a secret for their sakes.

It took them some time, but in the end they had gotten to the point again where they could talk to each other like they had before. And now Sam was with Pete and he was glad that she finally had found someone. But it still made him cringe inwardly every time his relationship with Jack came up.

"Sorry..." he mumbled, stealing a quick glance at his lover who eyed both of them suspiciously.

Sam saw Daniel's discomfort and decided to change the topic. "So, what did you get the General as a present for his promotion? I didn't see you giving him one earlier."

"Oh well, I gave him mine before you all arrived," Daniel explained. "A Hummer!"

Suddenly Jack, who was sitting next to him, sputtered the mouthful of beer he had just taken all over the coffee table while Sam's eyes went wide with horror. Teal'c just sat there with his typical stoic expression, a hint of amusement and confusion hidden behind his face.

"What?" Daniel asked irritated. "What did I...? Oh... ooohhh... shit!" Slowly he realized what his friends must have been thinking, feeling the heat rising all over his face. "No! No, Sam! It's not that!" He held up his hands in a denying manner, when he noticed he wasn't really getting through to her. "I gave him a miniature model of the SUV! The car!"

By now Jack had gotten his breathing under control again and could just shake his head about Daniel's comment. "Gawd, Daniel! And you call yourself a linguist?" With an amused snort he stood up and went to the cupboard to get the model out, showing it to Sam and Teal'c.

"Didn't I tell you about this some weeks before? It's a hobby of mine for some time now. You do know how much I like these kind of cars, so I thought it would be nice to get at least some models of them." Jack couldn't help but chuckle at the expressions of his former team mates. Sam still had a haunted expression on her face and Daniel was beet-red by now. To Teal'c he just muttered, "I'll explain later."

His former 2IC needed a few deep breaths until she could speak again and even so it came out more like a croak. "Oh... gawd... I'm... I'm so sorry, Sir." Sam took another gulp of air. "This is... nice... Sir. Really... nice."

"Indeed," Teal'c added, "it's a perfect copy of the ones I've seen once when we were at the car store, O'Neill."

Daniel had buried his face into his hands and just pleaded his friends to talk about something else, before he got even more embarrassed. So Jack decided to let him off the hook, at least for now, and started to question them about their plans for the upcoming downtime. After all they had been trapped in the Mountain for several days and as the base commander he had decided to give most of the personnel a few days off. There were still enough people left to run the base.

Teal'c wanted to spend some time looking for an apartment since he had applied for living off-base. Chances were good right now that the Pentagon would finally accept him as a trusted member of the SGC and grant him this wish. Sam told them she wanted to spend some time with her boyfriend Pete since he had some days off too and then go back to research the matter of Anubis and him not being dead after they destroyed his ships in the big battle over Antarctica.

The mentioning of the latest incident brought them all to a moment of silence, thinking about what they had recently gone through. It was Jack who spoke up first.

"So, what do we do if he manages to come back again?"

"I don't know, Jack. I honestly don't know," Daniel answered, frowning.

Sam didn't look too happy either, hating that she couldn't come up with a solution. Hell, she was supposed to be the smart one. With a sigh she stood up. "Well, I better get home. It's getting late."

"I will accompany you, ColonelCarter," Teal'c said. "I can drop you off on my way back to the base."

Jack and Daniel showed their friends to the front door, wishing them a good night. After the headlights of Teal'c's car were vanished around the corner Jack guided his lover inside again. The troubled look was back on Daniel's face.

"What is it?" Jack asked, embracing him from behind while gently pushing Daniel into the direction of the living room.

"I'm still thinking about Anubis." By now they had gotten to the couch and Jack sat down, one leg stretched out against the backrest. He pulled his lover down with him, still in the hold of his arms. Daniel got into a half-lying position, his back comfortably pressed against Jack's chest. "Wish I knew how to solve this, making him break the rules, so that the Ancients would finally do something." He let out an unsatisfied sigh.

"Well, for now there's nothing we can do. Maybe we're lucky enough for once and he's trapped on that ice-planet forever." Jack snuck his hands under his lover's shirt and began to sooth Daniel with circling motions on his belly. "And now I don't wanna hear anything about that anymore." He pressed a kiss against Daniel's temple and with a mischievous voice he added, "I heard you saying something about you giving me a hummer."

"Oh, Jack!" Daniel exclaimed with mock-anger, swatting his lover's arm. "You're impossible." But then he laughed, turning towards Jack halfway. "I will never hear the end of this, will I?"

"Not until I get what you let slip in front of our friends so willingly," Jack answered with a smirk.

"Well...since you asked so nicely..." Daniel turned around completely and began to open Jack's shirt to reveal his chest. It was a bit awkward because of his arm still being bandaged, but he managed somehow.

Daniel was annoyed that he still had to wear a bandage, his arm felt perfectly fine. But the doc had insisted on it to prevent him from over-exerting it. Anyway, he wouldn't let something like this stop him in his task of making up for the time they had lost because of this almighty-wanna-be Anubis.

He noticed his temper rising but quickly suppressed it, not wanting to spoil the mood and focused on his lover. Daniel ran his hand through Jack's chest hair which always fascinated him, even more now that it had gone completely silver.

Jack looked down at his lover, seeing the love and appreciation in his eyes, and bent down to steal a kiss. Soon there were tongues involved and their passion grew. Daniel let his hands roam on Jack's chest, finally letting them travel upwards to his shoulders, pushing back the fabric. He began to map out his lover's neck, throat and earlobes with his tongue while he guided Jack's arms over his head.

"Gawd, Danny," Jack groaned when he was suddenly bound by the hands with his shirt. A look into Daniel's eyes told him everything he needed. Pupils dilated with arousal, accompanied with a naughty gleam - Daniel was up to something, something they both would enjoy.

A hungry but way too short kiss on Jack's lips and then Daniel made his way down towards his major goal, holding his weight mostly with his knees and his one good arm. "Ssshhh... let me do my duty here." Before Jack could come up with an answer, Daniel let his hand glide along his still cloth-covered shaft, which elicited a deep moan from his lover.

"Somebody's been neglected during the last few days," Daniel whispered in an almost pouty voice, his lips hovering just millimeters above Jack's navel. He couldn't resist a quick lick, then he added, "we have to remedy that." With that he opened his lover's pants, shoving them unceremoniously down along with the underwear. Jack's cock stood at full attention, just waiting of Daniel to take care of him. When Daniel lowered his face to the tip, sneaking his tongue out to lick away a drop of precum, Jack couldn't do anything but hiss. They had been restrained to secret kisses during their lockdown and just feeling his lover's breathe on him would've been enough to bring him over the edge. But he held back, not wanting to spoil the evening.

But when Daniel enclosed his shaft with his lips without further warning he couldn't keep from crying out. "Fuck! Danny!" Thinking ahead Daniel had kept hold of his lover's hips to prevent any bucking. He let his tongue circle around Jack’s cock, relishing the sounds Jack was making, soft moans, accompanied by appreciative murmurs. He then let his lips slide lower down the shaft, getting more and more of the shaft inside of his mouth until his nose was pressed into Jack's pubic hair. Because he couldn't hold this up much longer he slid up and down the shaft only a few times until he settled down with half of Jack's cock in his mouth.

Daniel began to moan around Jack's cock, causing a vibrating sensation which made his lover groan even louder than he already was. He really enjoyed pleasuring Jack this way. It turned him on beyond words what he could do to this man who played the hard-ass Colonel for so long. It was amazing that he was able to reduce him to this moaning state, expressing his need for him.

But then Daniel's silly side got the better of him and he started to hum the Air Force hymn. It took some seconds for Jack to realize what was going on. "Daniel?" Daniel managed a half-smirk around Jack's cock and continued to hum enthusiastically. Jack escaped another groan but despite his lover's efforts he was able to sit up halfway, looking down at the sight of Daniel, lying between his legs. He nearly fell back against the cushion but the sound of the hymn hummed around his cock brought him back to the present. In between a half chuckle - half groan he tried to push his lover away from his task. "What..." A firmer shove and finally Daniel let go and looked up to him, smiling whimsically. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I only find it appropriate to use the Air Force hymn on this occasion," Daniel answered straightforward, trying to keep a serious expression. But seeing the unbelieving look in his lover's eyes made him finally snort with laughter. Jack just shook his head, still somewhat in a daze but after a few seconds he joined him in his laughter.

"You really are hopeless, Dr. Jackson." With that he grabbed Daniel's shirt-collar with his still bound hands and pulled his lover up to him and kissed him soundly. "You have way too many clothes on," he whispered huskily when they came up for air again, their laughter having died in the meantime.

"That can be helped," Daniel answered, standing up and getting rid of his clothes as fast as he could. Jack sat up properly and now his lover stood before him in his naked glory. He would never get tired of this. Daniel was simply gorgeous with all his hard muscles and soft skin, perfectly formed. So strong, but soft and gentle altogether, only Jack knew what lay behind the layer of clothes normally hiding all of this.

Daniel saw the admiring look in Jack's eyes, feeling so much love in this very moment, he couldn't even put it into words. But he didn't need to; he knew his lover could see everything thrown back at him in return. Daniel took a step forward and then lowered himself onto Jack's legs, sitting astride his lap, causing their cocks to glide along each other. He supported himself with his good arm against Jack's shoulder and with a breathy moan he closed the gap between them, capturing his lover's lips in a passionate kiss. Soon they were dueling again, a battle of tongues where no one was really eager for domination.

As if on their own their hips began to rock against each other, eliciting needy sounds from the lovers. During a brief breathing-break Jack put his arms over Daniel's head, letting them slide down until he could hold on to his butt. He pushed against his lover's back causing the friction between their cocks to increase and with a groan sought for Daniel's lips again.

Suddenly Daniel interrupted their motions again with a chuckle. Jack was even more irritated. "What now?"

Daniel tried for an apologetic expression but he couldn't hold back his amusement. "I was just thinking that I feel a bit like a rodeo cowboy." Seeing Jack's questioning look he tried to show Jack what he meant, rotating his hips playfully in his lover's lap, holding on to his shoulder with his one hand and making a circling motion with his bandaged arm. "I only need a lasso," he added in between his chuckling, "to capture you."

Jack just rolled his eyes and Daniel couldn't help but laugh out even more until he noticed the feral look his lover got. "You don't need to rope me. You’ve already got me." Jack slid down on the couch a bit until his cock was placed directly under Daniel's butt cheeks. With a buck of his hips he growled, "and I’ll give you something to ride on."

Daniel's hold onto his lover's shoulder slipped but he managed not to fall off his lap, a groan escaping his lips. "Gawd, Jack! Yes!" Their hips resumed the rocking motion and he could feel a sudden rush of need going through his body. He threw his head back, presenting Jack his throat who took use of the display, fastening his lips to the spot where neck meets shoulder, knowing that this was one of Daniel's hot spots. Hearing his lover moan even louder only encouraged him in his actions. He found his way down towards his nipples, licking, sucking and gently biting them.

"Jack!" Daniel's voice was strained with need. "Please!"

Jack knew the signs and he grunted "...gap...armrest..."

Daniel's hand fumbled along said gap and finally found the lube he was searching for. With slightly trembling fingers he opened the tube and put something onto Jack's fingers. But before he could squash some more out to smear it onto his lovers cock Jack had already pushed one finger into his anus, causing him to buckle and cry out.

"Fuck!"

He somehow got a hold again, but the task of preparing Jack's cock wasn't so easy anymore. He couldn't keep still against the probing finger inside of him, soon becoming more until Jack had three fingers inside. He felt himself being stretched and his motions were getting shaky.

He pressed his lips once more against Jack's and when he felt his prostate being massaged an enthusiastic sound escaped him.

"Don't... tease...!" He grunted through clenched teeth, already pushing himself up on his knees.

Jack got the clue, removing his fingers from Daniel's anus, and positioned his cock instead. Long practice and the driving need caused Daniel to relax as much as he needed to impale himself on his lover's shaft with one downward movement, not bothering to take his time. Both men groaned with the feeling of connection when Jack's cock disappeared into Daniel's ass.

Just giving himself a short moment to adjust Daniel almost instantly began to get up again, only to push back down onto Jack's cock with force. They had no problem establishing a matching rhythm and their moans filled the air between them. Harsh breaths gusted out of their mouths, only inches apart.

Jack held frantically onto Daniel's butt, kneading and leaving red marks with his fingernails, while he met every of his lover's down-movements with a push of his own. The feeling of being inside of Daniel always amazed him, making him complete and pushing him to his limits. Even though they had done this more times than he could count it never ceased to make him feel breathless, the tightness and the heat enveloping him, welcoming him. And the look on his lover's face just made this experience even more incredible - that someone could trust him that much and loved him back with the same passion, that he felt so good with what Jack was doing to him - it was a sheer miracle.

They didn't need much time for their movements to get frantic, the angle was just perfect for Jack to hit Daniel's prostate almost with every stroke and the tight grip his lover had on his shaft sent him nearer and nearer towards orgasm.

Soon Daniel felt that he couldn't hold back anymore, his balls tightening and a tingling feeling beginning in his toes. "Jack!... I'm..." And with a heartfelt groan he came, spurting his cum all over his lover's chest, his hand clawing at Jack's shoulder.

The increasing tightness around his cock pushed Jack over the edge too and he screamed out his lover's name while he never stopped to pound into Daniel's ass. Only when there was nothing left to release his movements began to slow down until only an occasional buck of his hips was left.

Daniel was leaning against him, his breath coming out in a rush, his whole body shaking. Jack awkwardly pushed them both down onto their sides, causing his cock to slip out during the process which elicited another groan from both men. He lay them down onto the cushions, careful of Daniel's bandaged arm, still locked in their embrace. They remained that way for several minutes until their breathing had returned somewhat to normal, finally retreating to Jack's bedroom before they fell asleep on the couch.

When they lay next to each other in bed they mostly never cuddled, both of them needing their space. But there was always at least some small contact of skin, like today when Daniel's hand was resting on Jack's shoulder, reassuring both of them that they were not alone.

His lover had fallen asleep almost instantly, but Jack was still lying awake. He contemplated the past few days and slowly he realized how close they had been to losing each other. It wasn't that he hadn't known - but only now the possible outcome sank in completely. Sure, they had been in similar deadly situations, but nearly all the time he was with Daniel and the rest of the team on another world, not here at home, where so much more was at stake.

And what it made him realize even more was that he would now have a lot less direct involvement with him staying back at the base, somewhat safe in a comfy leather chair. It was a weird feeling and he didn't know if he liked it. Was it really worth the risk of losing the one person who meant the world to him while being on another planet, not being able to do anything at all, even if it meant to just follow him to death?

Jack shook his head. It was freaking him out that he had begun to think about this so seriously. When he had still been the leader of SG-1 he had no problem suppressing these thoughts. Damn, he was Special Ops! He was supposed to go where others didn't want to risk setting even a foot.

But his new job did make him see things in another way. He wasn't going through the Gate anymore himself. He was relatively safe and that was something disturbing. In the past he had sent his comrades out with being right there with them, taking part in the battle, sharing the losses and the wins. But now he was just a bystander. And he didn't know if this was what he really wanted.

Sleep came only hesitantly with these thoughts on Jack's mind, but in the end he fell into a dreamless sleep.

~~~

"What're you thinking about?"

Jack startled. He hadn't thought Daniel to be up already at this hour and had wanted to use that early morning time to deliberate about his and SG-1's current situation.

Daniel got behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, a content sigh on his lips. "You gonna tell me or do you just wanna brood all day?"

Jack took hold of his lover's arm around him, tightening his grip. Why couldn't every day just be like this? "I miss you." Seeing the questioning look on Daniel's face he added, "Not you in person, though I would like to have you around more. I miss the team."

Daniel didn't say anything. He knew that when Jack felt like talking it was best just to shut up and wait until he was done. There were too few moments he opened up like that to ruin it by making remarks that could result in his partner to back out again.

"I don't really know if this whole head-of-the-SGC-crap is what I want. Perhaps a tad selfish but when Carter mentioned that there's no rule for a team to have four members I was glad to have gotten an excuse. I'll always have a place to come back to if the paperwork gets too much."

Jack didn't have to say the other reason for him not wanting a fourth person on SG-1. Daniel knew it all the same. And inwardly it made him amazingly happy despite his normal complaints about Jack's over-protectiveness.

And Jack knew that Daniel understood when his lover pressed a kiss against his nape, whispering "Love you" against the skin. They didn't need to say it out loud and Jack was glad for that. He didn't know if he could do that.

He felt Daniel's arms slip from his waist, hearing the footsteps retreating towards the kitchen and he decided to join him in making breakfast.

For today, everything was how it belonged.

~~~

The next few days of the long weekend they spent without further discussion of the events, just enjoying each others company and the opportunity of being lazy. Jack had to take a few visits to base, but he kept them to a minimum. And he was thankful that just this once no Goa'uld decided to screw up their day.

When they finally went back to the Mountain they were bombarded by a lot of work. Daniel was hauled off almost instantly by Sam who wanted to show him her new conclusions about the battle over Antarctica. When Jack wanted to come along she brushed him off. "Oh, Sir, I would like to discuss some matters with Daniel first on this subject. I'm not even sure if the direction I'm heading is right. So how about Daniel and I talk this through and we give you a short summary this afternoon? Is 1400 all right with you?"

"I have to check my calendar first, but I'm sure I can squeeze you in somewhere. I'll let Siler call you back," Jack answered and went to his office, feeling somewhat uneasy. What did this behavior mean? Well, he would know by the end of the day.

He didn't know by then that his first day back would be anything else than normal...

He had just poured himself his first cup of coffee, when he already heard the alarm. "Unscheduled off-world activation," he heard the voice of the technician on duty over the speakers.

"Fuck!" Jack swore. "Not even a few minutes of silence." With that he went directly to the control room.

The wormhole had already been established, its glow illuminating the gateroom even with the iris blocking every pass way through it. "Report!" Jack barked when he stepped into the control room, causing the technician at the control panel to jump slightly. He was obviously new in this position, still nervous and not yet familiar with the General's attitudes.

"We're receiving a message from SG-11, Sir," the technician informed him.

"On screen," Jack ordered just as Daniel entered the room alongside Sam and Teal'c.

"What's up, Jack?" Daniel asked him. "As much as I know there's nothing scheduled for today. Who is it?"

"It's your friends from SG-11. Don't know what they have now," Jack told him with an annoyed glance towards the screen.

"Receiving only audio, Sir," the technician told him.

"Sir... it's Col. Edwards... We have... problems with the video interface..." came the voice of the team-leader over the speaker, Jack noticing the strange undertone and slight hesitation. But none of the others seemed to be suspicious so he let it be for the moment.

"What is it, Colonel?" Jack asked.

"We have found some... interesting plates... but not all are... clearly to read... We would like to... to send you one specific plate for Dr. Jackson to look at... Perhaps he can... decipher what's been written on it."

Before Daniel could even get a word in, Jack questioned "Why don't you bring it with you when you come back in two days, Colonel?"

"Sir... the guys think that... that it could be the key to... to some underground tunnels. And... and they would like to investigate it further before... before we come back."

"I could come to the site," Daniel announced, eagerly trying to grasp every opportunity for some simple archaeological work. He tried to ignore the glare Jack sent his way. "This way everything would go much faster. Perhaps I could help you with other translations too."

"No, Doctor... it's not necessary... we... we're getting along quite well... we just need your help with this one... If you could just have a look and... and give us the information later... it would be enough."

Now even Daniel frowned, but expressing more his disappointment over the fact that his friends of the Archaeological team didn't want him there. Nevertheless he couldn't act against his nature, so he nodded to Jack, telling him he would do it.

"Okay, Colonel, send it through."

"Edwards out, Sir." With that the voice-connection went off and Jack told the technician at the control panel to open the iris.

When they heard the shield revealing the glowing wormhole all of them looked expectantly towards the Stargate, Daniel halfway down to the Gateroom. But instead of one of the members of SG-11 coming through, one of Anubis SuperSoldiers appeared.

Suddenly everything happened in a hurry. The dozen SFs in the Gateroom tried to shoot the drone with all the munitions they had, but of course they had no chance against the armored suit of the drone. They didn't even survive a minute until the SuperSoldier had killed them all.

Jack had been quick enough to shut down the shield for the window of the control room, but one shot of the drone got through in the last second, hitting the technician on duty right through the heart and killing him instantly.

"What was that?" Daniel got out, horror written all over his face. He wasn't alone with this one.

"Obviously a trap," Jack snapped. "I knew I should have gone with my gut feeling. Edwards just... didn't sound normal. The drone probably has used them. Maybe there are more on the planet. I'm sure all of SG-11 have been killed by now. These Soldiers don't take prisoners." He was clearly angry with himself.

Sam had taken care of the iris almost instantly when Jack had secured the window of the control room. And over the security camera they could see that no more drones had managed to come through the Gate. Teal'c stood by the steps leading towards the hallway, prepared to fight should the drone break through the doors of the Gateroom.

"So what now?" Sam asked. But before Jack could even answer they heard a croaking metallic voice coming over the speaker.

"I know you can hear me! I want the destination where you have sent my God Anubis! You have five minutes or I will destroy this world!"

For a few seconds the four stood rooted to the spot, no one daring to speak. It was Sam who broke the silence. "This is no common drone."

"I agree," Daniel added. "Normally they don't speak, they only shoot."

"Maybe Anubis made some of these on purpose - as some kind of SuperLeader," Sam queried, her look getting even more worried.

"SuperLeader or not, we have to somehow get the energy weapon you developed with your father," Jack told her, obviously going through their options in his mind. "Teal'c, you think we can get to the weaponry fast enough?"

Teal'c nodded. "It might get difficult though."

"But," Daniel injected, "perhaps we can talk to him. Convince him that Anubis is not that powerful anymore. If he's further advanced than the others he might hear us out."

"I'm not taking a chance here, Daniel," Jack shot back with a glare. "We kill him or he will kill us." Then he added "You and Carter stay here. Tell me if he breaks through the steel doors." He snatched one of the radio units at the wall and sped off. "Let's go, Teal'c. I have a Zat in my office."

They stopped shortly by his office to get the Zat from his desk. It wasn't common procedure for him to have this weapon in his office but he had made it clear when he took the position as the head of the SGC that he wouldn't take the chance of being unarmed in any case. Besides, only a few people knew about it and the drawer which contained the Zat was always locked.

Then they ran towards the stairs leading to the other levels. It was only five levels and it would most likely be faster not to take the elevator.

Just when they had gotten through the door to the stairs they heard Daniel call them over the radio unit. "He's breaking through. Perhaps a minute until he's through the door."

"Damn, this guy seems to have a different understanding of time," Jack swore while they paused behind the door. "Lock the control room. We’ll try to lure him our way," he answered through the radio.

"You go. I will attempt to distract him," Teal'c announced.

Jack started to descend the stairs but he only got one level down when he heard Teal'c firing the Zat and a few seconds later another pair of footsteps following him. While he rushed down he suddenly heard Daniel over the speaker system, despite his orders trying to talk to the drone. "I wish he would just once listen to what I say," Jack huffed under his breath while in the background his lover frantically was explaining to the enemy that his so called God was nothing more than a shadow, having as much as no power left.

Jack just concentrated on his goal to get the energy weapon, finally storming through the door to the level where the weaponry was located. Behind him Teal'c was obviously successful in getting the SuperSoldier on their track, firing the Zat in short intervals. He ran around the next corner when he already heard the door to the steps being pushed open. The distance between them was getting shorter.

A few more steps and he reached the closed door to the weaponry, pulling his access card through the reader. Even the few seconds it took for the door to allow him entrance left him impatient. "O'Neill!" Teal'c called behind him. Time was running short.

Right then the reader granted him access and he rushed into the storage room, knowing almost blindly where he had to look for the weapon. Now he only had to get the crystals...

Just when he had opened the panel containing the energy crystals, Teal'c arrived at the door, slamming it shut. It took Jack a moment to get the crystal into the weapon, causing him to loose valuable seconds. "Fuck!" he swore and almost the moment the crystal clicked into place it started to glow faintly.

As the laser weapon of the drone cut through the steel door, Teal'c took a step back and aimed the Zat, while Jack positioned himself behind a shelf, the energy weapon pointing at the door. One quick one-second-check if everything was ready and then the SuperSoldier burst through the heavy metal.

Jack didn't think twice and he hit the drone with his energy beam exactly the same moment Teal'c fired his Zat. A second and a third shot just to be sure and the Soldier went down.

Teal'c checked quickly for any sign of life and when he gave Jack an approving nod they both slumped down against the wall.

~~~

Hours later when everything had returned to somewhat normal the four sat in the conference room, discussing the day's events.

"You were right, Jack," Daniel said at one point, startling him. Now that was a first. "I wasn’t very successful in trying to convince the drone that Anubis wasn’t powerful anymore."

"See? Sometimes even I know what I'm speaking of," Jack beamed.

"But it was at least worth a try," Daniel cut in instantly which made Jack roll his eyes. "Perhaps if I was face to face with him..."

"Ah... I don't want to hear it," Jack interrupted him. "That wouldn’t have changed anything, Daniel, and you know it. They're programmed to kill and no one can tell them otherwise." Daniel started to say something again but Jack cut him off before he could utter a single word. "That's it. I don't want to discuss it anymore."

After a deep breath he announced "Well, you all better get home or do whatever else you wanna do. Anything but work," he added when he saw Sam's look, knowing full well that she intended to go back to her lab. He also sent a meaningful glare towards his lover. "Dismissed."

They all stood up, Sam and Teal'c leaving the room together while Jack went in front of the window, looking down into the Gateroom. He felt his lover come up next to him.

"You know that you are needed here - here at the base. Today's just shown it." Jack tried to say something but this time Daniel beat him to it. "No, listen. No one would've acted like you today, nobody would've even known what to do. Hammond maybe, but he's not coming back. Weir? She's just a political negotiator. She never would've acted like this. And I can't think of anybody the Pentagon could come up with who would be just a quarter as good as you in this job."

He paused for a second which Jack tried to use. "Daniel,..."

"I'm not done, Jack. Sam, Teal'c and me... we can take care of ourselves out there and you know that. But we need to know that there's someone at home who we can rely on that there still is going to be a home when we come back."

Jack felt honored by his lover's words but there was just something disturbing him about what he had done today. "But I made a mistake that nearly destroyed the SGC. I didn't trust my instincts when I heard Edwards over the radio. He sounded... well, just not normal. Somewhere I knew there was something wrong, but I opened the iris nonetheless. And now there are a lot of people dead."

"Everyone makes mistakes, Jack," Daniel tried to reassure him. "But you did your best to remedy your mistake. Anyone else would've probably not even found it unnatural how Edwards sounded. I know I didn't. And I'm sure Sam would've said something if she did."

After a few seconds Jack finally nodded. This was the decision - the decision about his future. He knew Daniel was right and it gave him a warm feeling to know that he had so much trust in him.

Maybe there would be a time when he could go off-world again with them. But right now the place where he was needed the most was exactly where he stood this very moment.

He let all of this sink into his mind a few more moments then he turned around, looking into the worried eyes of his lover. He couldn't help a small smile, telling Daniel that he had made his choice and got an approving nod in return.

"Let's go home," Jack said, gently pushing Daniel towards the door with one hand on his back.

"Only if I can drive your truck," Daniel smirked.

Jack let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm just glad I don't drive a Hummer."

"Jack!" Daniel gasped, but he couldn't help the chuckle escape him. "You promised!"

His lover only smiled mischievously. His world was all right again - he had found his place and Daniel was right there.


End file.
